


Maybe it's fate; I reckon not, though

by uroborus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Harry forces Tom to make friends, Harry hates Dumbledore now LOL, M/M, Multi, Other, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-12 04:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19221994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uroborus/pseuds/uroborus
Summary: Harry goes back in time in third year because of a mishap with Hermione's time turner. He expects Tom Riddle to have always been a brooding dark lord, but he's just a boy like himself. Shows Riddle what it truly means to be happy, getting closer to him and their friends all the while.





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first like series fanfiction. I always wanted to do this idea but I thought my writing wasn't sufficient yet. Thought "screw it" and decided to just start. I'm excited though and I think this is gonna be a long one ;^_^  
> Feel free to review! Just don't be too harsh, I'm still learning!

Harry looked down at his feet, his thoughts gone null. Spots of different colors clouded his vision. Red then yellow, and in a few seconds, they were gone. He surveyed his surroundings, vision and thoughts slowly returning. Familiar portraits framed the walls, and the smell of old parchment lingered in the air.  
Hogwarts. Hey, at least he was home.

His choppy discombobulated musings were interrupted by the sounds of scurrying footsteps. Harry instinctively located where the sound came from and looked up. The footsteps belonged to a smaller girl, but much to Harry’s dismay, she was still taller than him. She had short dark blonde locks. A small ponytail stuck out of the side of her head, while the rest of her hair rested in slight waves. She had tanned skin, and looked to be no older than Harry. She looked down at the disheveled and confused boy in front of her.

“Are you alright?” She asked.  
Harry wasn’t thinking clearly. It showed.  
“I’m Harry Potter.” He answered, and she raised a thick brown eyebrow.  
Clearly, this kid was lost. Maybe he got hexed? Kids pulled pranks on each other a lot around this time.. Something about the new school year had everyone in a fit.  
She hesitated slightly, holding out her hand.  
“We can, uh, go see Headmaster Dippet, yeah?” She asked, confused on what to do. The boy was wearing pajamas, and seemed to be her age, yet she didn’t recognize him at all. She was considering taking him to the nurse but decided against it. The Headmaster would probably be the best course of action, in her opinion. Amelia was the type of girl to trust her gut.  
The boy nodded and stood up before falling again and landing into her arms. Yeah. Headmaster would be best. He looked like he was gonna pass out, and she swore he wasn’t there when she was first wandering through the halls. She liked to walk out at night, take a stroll, much to the Prefects’ dismay.  
She dragged him to the familiar office, looking down to check if he was still alive every once in a while. There seemed to be a strange gold item in his hand, but her parents taught her not to pry. 

Harry came to his senses slightly, looking around the office. Dippet.. wasn’t that the Headmaster he saw in Tom Riddle’s memories last year? This was a weird dream. Wait. Wouldn’t you be unaware of a dream during a dream? No, this was way too out of the park to be reality. His one man argument was cut off by the Headmaster looking at him with inquisition.  
Maybe this Dippet was less odd than Dumbledore?

“You’re saying we have no record of a Harry Potter anywhere, and you want to just admit him to school here?”  
That was the voice of the girl in the yellow robes who rescued him. Oh. Hufflepuff.  
“A boy appeared out of thin air! It’s impossible to get through the wards as an enemy! We must admit him. It’s a sign.” was the response from the school’s current Headmaster (only in this dream, Harry told himself.)  
So, Dippet was odd too. Good to know.

Before he could react, the sorting hat was placed on his unruly head. He didn’t bother to ask the hat much of anything, given he was in a half-awake state and still thought he was in a dream.  
“Slytherin!” It called out, and Harry laughed half-heartedly. Weird sort of dream.

“Darn, I thought he might have been one of our lot.” remarked the girl, her hands resting on her hips. She seemed lively. Shame she was just a figment of a dream.

Before he knew it, he was taken to the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. Amelia obviously did not know the password, confused to why Dippet decided she would escort the new kid, but said nothing of it. Might up her credentials in the dreaded house, given that the boy made a good impression. She knocked on the door insistently until someone answered. 

Low and behold, Tom Riddle answered. He was not in his sixth year like the horcrux Harry defeated last year, but looked younger. Around Harry’s age, if he were to gander. This was all just a dream, of course. Of course. 

The Hufflepuff looked displeased by the prospect. Maybe, she was a representation of his own feelings. Wait, what the hell was he talking about? None of his dreams were ever this deep.

“Yes?” Tom asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.  
“This kid’s yours.” The girl said shortly, not wanting to be around Riddle any longer than she had to. She pushed Harry into the room and disappeared.

“This is so weird. It’s so realistic.” Harry said, grabbing Riddle’s face gently.  
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you are talking about.” Geez, formal as always.  
Riddle grabbed the other boy’s wrist tightly, sending a searing pain through Harry’s arm.

Wait.  
Wait.  
Wait. Wait. _Waitwaitwait._ Wait..  
You can’t feel pain in dreams. Isn’t that why they say ‘pinch me’ in all the movies? Oh fuck.

Harry’s eyes widened in terror, and Riddle took it as fear of the pain. He liked when people feared him. If only he knew the true extent of Harry’s fear. Maybe he wouldn’t like it so much. Or maybe he would. 

Either way, Harry passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry awoke to the sight of wood. Sturdy, familiar wood. There in every timeline, every universe. He really shouldn’t have turned his head to see he was in the Slytherin dorms. He should’ve stared at the top of the canopy bed some more. 

How the hell did this happen? Last night was a blur but..Oh fuck. Riddle. Tom Riddle. Harry was here, in the 40’s, somehow, with fucking Voldemort budding into a dark lord at a rapid rate. Wait. Was he yet? What year was he in? Who cares! How was he here again? Think, kid, think.

Well, him and Ron were fiddling with that weird necklace they found in Hermione’s stuff. Pretending it was a teleporter, saying mumbo jumbo like ‘take me where I must go.’ Oh! He should still have it! He could get back, surely. Oh, Harry, you genius!

There it was! On the bed! With… sand spilling out from it, and the glass shattered. Hm. This isn’t right. 

Merlin. This isn’t right.

Before Harry could panic, the green silk covering his bed shot open as two pale hands forced their way in.  
“Hi, sleeping beauty!” called a voice. Who was this now?  
He stuck his head in too, and Harry almost jumped out of bed.  
“Malfoy?” Harry asked, not able to pick out the intricate differences between him and his grandson without his glasses.  
“Holy shit! How the fuck did you know my name?” The boy exclaimed incredulously. He then shook his head as if to clear his confusion. This kid was kind of funny, Harry thought. Getting a closer look, Abraxas wasn’t that similar to his grandson. He had a darker shade of blonde hair, looking almost golden. It was unkempt like Harry’s own nest of hair, and the boy had small injuries all over his face and arms.  
“Name’s Abraxas. People call me...” He leaned in and looked from side to side as if there were eavesdroppers hidden on Harry’s bed. “‘The Brax,’ cool right?” 

“No one calls you that.” said Riddle’s calm voice. He too parted the curtains on the other side and made himself comfortable in the cramped space. Harry felt like he might have a heart attack. If Riddle knew Harry’s fear or discomfort, it didn’t show (or he just didn’t care.) He looked as poised as ever. His black hair was in the same perfect curls as his Horcrux self, and quite frankly, it was very frightening. Before Harry could muster up the courage to say anything, Riddle spoke.

“I believe we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Tom Riddle.” He was as formal and fake as always, but something surprised Harry. Riddle spoke his name with no distaste. He probably hadn’t come up with the name Voldemort yet. 

“Damn, the hell did you do to him?” Abraxas asked, laughing slightly.

Harry just nodded at Riddle, not wanting to spend any further time with the boy. At least until he figured out what he was gonna do about the situation. Riddle got the memo, and made his leave hesitantly. Wait! The necklace! He got distracted. Find the necklace… It was over- Ah.

Abraxas held the gold piece in his hand, frowning.  
“It’s broken. Oh, I sure hope that wasn’t my fault. I broke one of Riddle’s artifacts or whatever last year, and I got hexed everyday for like a month. So, I sent him a howler saying he still wet the bed.” Abraxas leaned in as if to tell a secret. Harry obliged, and followed suit.  
“Everyone’s too scared of Riddle to fight back. Not me though, and not you either, okay?” Abraxas winked before retreating back to just looking in from the curtains. He looked at Harry expectantly. Oh. Responding. That’s what people do.

“No, you didn’t break it. I found it like that this morning.” It was broken. Oh, fuck. It was broken. He certainly couldn’t tell anyone either, they’d think him crazy. Maybe Dumbledore?

Abraxas let out a sigh of relief and patted Harry on the back in a way that was way too intimate for having just met the boy. Harry actually kind of found it endearing.  
“Ha! Thank Merlin! What was your name again? We should be mates. You seem like the kind of guy to have mates. Everyone else here thinks they’re too high and mighty to have friends.” With that, he shot a look past Harry and to the other side of the bed. Riddle was probably sleeping next to his bed on that side. What luck.  
“Or, they’re mean little cunts. Like Avery and Rosier.” Abraxas whispered. No need for glances this time, Harry supposed. 

Ah, he had to respond now. Man, was he in a state of shock or something? It seemed likely, given the scenario.  
“My name’s Harry Potter. You can call me Harry, if we’re going to be friends.” He honestly wasn’t mad at the prospect of being friends with this Malfoy. He seemed like a fun guy.

“Oh, nice! I’ll try and think of a nickname.” Malfoy’s face grew strained, as if it pained him to think. Maybe that was just what helped him think? This kid was weird.  
“How about..Har? No, that, that sounds like I’m calling you hair, like that... you brush. Potty?” He laughed loudly before continuing. “That would be so mean! Uh..”

“Just Harry will do.” Potter said with a smile, amused by Abraxas and his antics. 

“Right then, want me to escort you to breakfast?” Abraxas gave one of the most innocent and joyful smiles in the world, and Harry couldn’t help but smile back. There was no way this kid became a Death Eater. That must just be his son.  
Harry nodded and stood up, finding the signature green robes on the ground next to his bed. 

“Oh, those are mine. I figured you’d need some. I also signed you up for all my classes. Hope you don’t mind.” The blonde said sheepishly. Why was he going out of his way so much for the new kid? Was he that in need of a real friend? Harry frowned at that thought.

Harry got dressed, not at all excited about the prospect of staying here forever, given that his ‘ride home,’ so to speak was shattered. Did he break it in his sleep?

He looked around at his dorm mates. They seemed content not involving themselves with the new boy. All except Abraxas, who was chittering to himself as he folded his clothes, and Riddle, who kept eyeing him from the bathroom. He needed to get out of here.

  
  


The congregation of students made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The food looked the same, Harry noted. At least, there was that. He sat down next to Abraxas, which was unfortunately, next to Riddle as well. It was just like the bed arrangements. Harry felt like he had the angel and devil on his shoulder, except they were in the form of two strange kids.

“What year are you in?” Riddle asked Harry with idle curiosity. A new student was always a subject of interest, but it was more than that to him. The new boy was afraid of him. Sure, Tom grabbed his wrist quite tightly, but the terror in the boy’s green eyes did not match the situation. He recognized the fear, a fear he himself experienced at times. It was reminiscent of the children in the war bunkers, fearing for their lives. If he had the empathy to care, either for them or for this new boy, he would. He had himself to worry about, however. He had no time to care for others, and no need to. The question was, why did this ‘Harry’ fear for his life because of a boy grabbing his wrist?

“Third. What about you?” Harry’s voice came out shakey, and he breathed in slowly. He had to get used to this. He had to reason this out. Tom Riddle. He wasn’t Voldemort yet. He was just a boy like him. Didn’t Dumbledore say that it was the choices they made? But, Tom didn’t even seem to..have any friends. Everyone seemed to ignore him, unless they were asking him questions. Maybe he could..no, that would be stupid. You can’t change Tom Riddle. He was born evil! Wait. What? No one’s born evil. Hmm...

“Likewise.” Riddle answered back, glancing over at Harry curiously. Harry wore his emotions on his face. Tom was surprised he couldn’t hear the gears turning in that head of his. He seemed..different from the others in the house. Potter was a wizarding family, but was rarely ever sorted into the house of snakes, and the circumstances regarding his appearance were..mysterious, to say the least. He’d have to ask that girl he saw earlier. She didn’t seem to take kindly to him at all. Maybe it was the house divide. Didn’t seem like it though..

Potter smiled slightly. Hell with it. It wouldn’t kill to be friendly. Maybe, if Tom had some friends… and, after all, he had no idea how to get back now.  
“Ah. Do you want to come with me to class? I have whatever Abraxas has.” Harry said. Abraxas perked up like a deer in headlights at the sound of his name.

“Yeah, me and Tommy boy will show you! We have Potions first!” He cheered, hugging Harry tightly. Abraxas seemed oblivious to the dirty look Riddle gave him preceding his utterance of the demeaning nickname.

Harry sputtered and coughed. “I can’t breathe.” With that, the blond released him from his grasp. Harry now understood why the boy was in Slytherin. Kid was like a fucking boa constrictor. 

“I suppose, I will walk with you.” Riddle relented, confused by the boy’s friendly demeanor. He’d usually write off a kid who was kind to him as a bumbling fool (like Abraxas) but something in him made him think otherwise. Harry wasn’t trusting him blindly, in fact it was the opposite. Yet, he was still kind? Was he planning Riddle’s demise? He had very little reason to. Was he just strange? Perhaps. This was an enigma. 

Harry went to gather his things before realizing he had no things. Almost as if he was attending this school before. That’s not a natural habit. Riddle was caught in his musings as Harry and Abraxas stared at him with bright eyes. They seemed so full of precious hopes and dreams. They probably had parents who loved them. Who cared for them. Who loved them. Anger bubbled in the boy’s stomach. Why couldn’t he have that?

“Riddle? Do you have a free period after our second class too?” Harry asked. Riddle looked sad, and a bit angry, but mostly sad. He just couldn’t see the boy as a Dark Lord To Be, not when he was his own age, and so...similar to him. He felt all those raging emotions he could see on the boy’s face. Harry supposed he hadn’t masked everything of his yet. It must be hard, living life wearing a crafted persona. Maybe if he got to be a little bit of a cunt now, he wouldn’t be killing people in the future.  
“I’d like to talk to you sometime.” 

Abraxas kept his mouth shut, even though he knew the answer. He copied Riddle’s schedule almost to the dot, spare for taking Muggle Studies instead of Arithmancy. Why not copy off the star student?

“Yes. I do. Sure, I’d be delighted to speak with you.” There was venom in his voice, as if to say ‘how dare you confuse me, how dare you distrust me yet act kind, how dare you be filled with so much love.’ It sickened Riddle. He hated this meaningless friendship nonsense. He wished the world would bow to him. That was the only pleasure he got out of life anyways, feeling on top, feeling free of death. Ruling. 

Harry hummed. “Okay. Meet me in the Library after our second class. I’m sorry for touching your face earlier. I was quite out of it. I hope I didn’t muddle our chances of being friends.” The former Gryffindor held out a scarred hand, marked from different spell backfires and attacks from a two headed man and a giant snake. 

The future heir of Slytherin regarded the hand with curiosity, before gripping it and giving it a small shake.

“You didn’t.” Riddle said.  
‘There was never a chance. I don’t have friends.’ He thought.  
“I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.” He said.  
‘I want to figure out why you intrigue me so much and then crush you under my foot.’ He thought.

“Me too, Riddle. Hm..Tom, and you don’t have to pretend with me, you know.” Harry said simply, before walking off with Abraxas. Tom didn’t even get time to process that remark.

“Huh?” Abraxas murmured before being dragged away by his new friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry was lucky he ended up here around the same time of year that he was previously at. Or currently at, or- Time Travel was tricky. 

Potions was fun being that Snape wasn’t the teacher, and the room was less dark and grimy. He actually enjoyed seeing the dungeons now that his old Professor’s presence didn’t drain all the joy from the room. It was a nice atmosphere. The room was filled with various concoctions. Harry kind of felt like he was in a Halloween movie, in all honesty. It was nice.

What surprised him the most though, was Malfoy and Riddle’s banter. 

“I did not threaten to jump out the window. That is revisionist history!” Abraxas huffed like a child, crossing his arms.

“Revisionist history is a term for actual historical events, not petty squabbles. You can’t just use it when you don’t like someone remembering something.” Riddle sighed, bored with the conversation. 

Harry laughed a little before smiling. Riddle was just a kid. This shouldn’t have been so surprising, really. It was just that... Riddle was always portrayed as an ultimate evil, even at a young age. If Riddle was just an outcast kid drawn down the wrong path, then...

Why didn’t anyone help him? 

It definitely didn’t have to do with choices. Riddle didn’t have the same choices! Harry had friends. Riddle didn’t. The folks in this house (besides Abraxas) seemed to just follow Riddle; not try and meet him as an equal.  
Riddle didn’t have the same warmth that Harry did, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t.

“Harry. Do you need help? Are you spacing out? When I was a kid, I would space out so much they took me to the doctor.” Abraxas cut into his thoughts, smiling and waving his hand in Harry’s face. 

“Oh, right. I’m good. Sorry.” Harry returned the smile, fiddling with his quill. He sighed slightly, using the parchment Abraxas let him have. 

 

  


The two classes were over fast, and he made his way to the library hesitantly. Riddle was sitting there, poised as always. Harry frowned and sat down, wondering why he asked Riddle this in the first place.

“Are we going to play a game of 20 questions?” Harry asked, humorously.

Riddle didn’t detect the sarcasm in the statement. He saw Harry as a straightforward fellow.  
“Alright.” He knew this game. He heard kids playing it in the orphanage. “I’ll think of something first.” This was the game where you thought of things and people guessed them, right?

Harry blinked.

“I meant, the one where people just asked each other questions under the guise of a game.” the former Gryffindor corrected. A pink hue pasted over Riddle’s cheeks. Was he… embarrassed? 

“I knew that.” Riddle said. How did he let Potter make a fool out of him? Nevermind, just get the information you need, Riddle.  
“How did you get here?”

Harry shouldn’t have asked him that stupid, sarcastic question.  
“I honestly am not sure. My turn, then. Uhhh..” What the hell was he supposed to ask Riddle? ‘Have you earned a following yet?’ ‘Have you killed yet?’ No, that wouldn’t help him. That would just dig this hole deeper.  
“Do you have any friends? Remember, you can’t lie. I’ll know if you do.” There. He wouldn’t say why he’d know...

Riddle gritted his teeth. That was a non-answer, but it wasn’t impossible that the child didn’t know. His parents could have been saving him from the war and obliviated him. That was quite common. Surely this Potter kid couldn’t possibly know if he was lying… but something warned him against lying to the new kid.  
“No, I do not. I have… acquaintances. Mutually beneficial relationships.” He switched to a question. “How did you know Malfoy’s name? Truth, remember.” He used his words against him.

Harry was surprised that he didn’t lie. Though, the mutually beneficial relationship remark was debatable.  
“He reminded me of another kid named Malfoy I met. Perhaps, a relative. Maybe, it was just a prophecy dream. My memory is foggy.” It wasn’t a full lie. Abraxas did remind him of Draco, and his memory WAS foggy since he arrived here. 

“I see. How curious.” Riddle said, but he didn’t seem too satisfied with the answer.  
“Pardon me, Potter. I’ve had enough. I’m going to take my leave.”  
And so, he left.

Harry slumped. Well, how was he supposed to tell the truth in this situation? This was impossible. He needed to get back to his own time. The only problem with that, was the fact that he may have already messed up the course of history.

“Kid. Potter.” He heard, and lifted his head towards the sound. There was his guardian angel. The girl he had a dream about last night after she took him to the Headmaster’s office. In the dream she was decked out in a roman toga, and winged like an angel. It was odd. Maybe, it was a sign that she could be trusted.

“Don’t talk to that Riddle twat anymore. You can’t trust him as far as you can throw him.” The Hufflepuff chided, crossing her arms in the seat across from the speckled boy. 

It was definitely a sign she could be trusted. 

“I know. I’m trying to get him to stop being a twat. We have a long history.” Harry said vaguely, but the girl simply nodded. 

“What’s your name?” He asked, realizing he never caught it.

“Amelia.” She said.

There was silence as Harry waited for her last name.

“Amelia...” He trailed off purposely, for her to add her surname.

“Amelia.” The girl said flatly.

“Amelia Amelia?” Harry looked completely confused.

“No, you idiot. I don’t like giving out my last name. Call me Amelia.” She insisted. She had her reasons.

Harry nodded slowly. Was everyone in this timeline mysterious as all hell?

Another blonde scooted in to the seat next to Amelia, much to her distaste.  
“Hi Harry! It’s me! Abraxas! I was thinking, do you want to make an unbreakable vow to be true to each other forever?” 

Nevermind. Not everyone.

“No, Abraxas.” He said simply, but a small smile showed.

Abraxas turned to Amelia, shaking her hand enthusiastically. She slowly loosened up, giving a small smile. Abraxas’ happy-go-lucky attitude was infectious. To everyone except Riddle, apparently.

“Alright! Let’s all go to Hogsmeade together!” Abraxas smiled, looking at both of them. 

“Sure.” Amelia reluctantly agreed. She had her father sign the form, despite how much he protested. 

Harry agreed as well. He could probably forge a form, as he really didn’t have any guardians here. 

“Ah. New kid, I know.” She smiled, handing him a signed form. She then looked away, frowning.

“I got it. An extra. Just in case, you know? No one has to know you don’t live with me.”  
Seems like both Amelia and Abraxas were in need of a friend.

As long as Harry was here, he was in need of a friend too. 

“Thank you.”


End file.
